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Show 170 171 International Socialism as a Peace Force Now. CARL l). 'l‘noursnx. There are two features in the, international Vttfiflllii move- ment that make it h}- n-mon of il\‘ Vt 1‘y' "Him-p, and logically, the greatest autiarar movement in the world. The first of these is the propae'anda of socialism. its teachings and its principlm, second is its political and economic power. The 'l'IIlZ l'It‘HNflMltf l'..\$l,\' ttl" l'li.\('l-‘, lit the first place the philosophy of socialism itself otters the PHW!‘ "own mum economic basis upon which alone international peace can rest. If an evil is to be cured the cause must tirst be found and removed. There is a cause for militarism and war, and it lies in the very nature of our present industrial and economic system, The wars of today. and the preparations for war. all center around the question of markets, It is the struggle over foreign markets that embroils the nations. It is the effort of each nation to defend its commercial interests involved in the problems of foreign markets that gives rise to the military preparations. Now why should a nation need to struggle to maintain its foreign markets? \\'hy cannot the exchange between nations be carried on without friction? The essential element in the situation is this: Each nation under the capitalistic system is producingr constantly a surplus which it cannot dispose of at home. And it is to tind a place for the disposingr of surplus which forces upon the nations the necessity of maintaining at all hazards their foreign markets. llut tunhr a just social order there would he no capitalistic surplus of this sort. It is not overproductiriu that is the difficulty; it is the exploitation of labor. It is not that the workingr classes and the masses of the people in any given nation are overfed. or tcm well clothed. or too well housed, or in any way too well pro- because, being robbed of the wealth which their labor created, they cannot buy it back. And this is the fatal weakness of the capitalistic system. Ev reason of its very nature, therefore, and in spite of all that we may do, this system which compels its masters to struggle for foreign markets gives rise logically and inevitably to the interna- tional complications out of which war grows. It is this same element that makes it seem necessary to the capitalistic rulers of the World to maintain vast armies and navies. And this in turn gives rise to the mad rush of the nations to see which can build the higgest battleships and marshal the greatest armies. Hence out of economic injustice. out of the exploitation of labor grows naturally the awful fruitage of militarism and war. It is useless to cry peace, peace, with this system. when there is no peace and when there can he no peace so long as our induss trial order rests upon this fundamental element of injustice. Socialism goes to the root of the matter. It demands a readjustment of the industrial world. And the purpose of that readjustment is to secure for those who toil the wealth which their labor creates: to eliminate the unearned incomes that con- stitnte the object of the "tpitalistic method of production; to give to those who labor practically the products of their toil, \Vhen this is done the woi rs of the world, or the workers in any nation, will he able tn buy out of the market an amount of wealth equal to that which their labor has put into the market. There will therefore be H2) surplus and hence the nation will not need to tight for foreign markets. lixchanee betwL-cu the nations may be carried on, without exploitation and without the fear of one securing an economic advantage over the other. Thus the philosophy of socialism in itself offers the economic basis of justice and pea '. and in the loner run this l\ the only way of establishing p ‘ace upon the earth. livery other form. of effort that the world has resorted to as a means for securing peace has proven futile. 'l‘he splendid propaganda (if the i time of li‘eace. the carpenter of Nazareth, vided with the things that are necessary for their normal and physical existence. lt is because. by reason of the capitalistic system. tl‘n.‘ \\'0rl:(.s have been impoverished. They are unable to buy from the market the wealth which their labor has created and put into the market. The surplus cannot be sold to them, maintained as it hes nee-.1 through derful devotion. sch-sacrifice and failed to protect the w1 rld from crushing hurden~ of our monstrous centuries with the llltml wonmartyrdom, has neVi-rtlveles; war or to sare u~ from the armies and uavie». |